Chapter 1: What positioning is all about Positioning is how you place your offering in the prospect's mind.

It has to be realistic. The basic approach is not creating something new and different but modifying what is already there in the mind. There is a plethora of products today and the society has just become over communicated. The message under such scenario must be oversimplified and sharp. While creating the message concentrate on the prospect's perception and expectations rather than concentrating on the product. Communicate the solution which the product solves rather than the product itself. To achieve success a company must create a position in the prospect's mind. To create a position you not only need to take in to consideration your strengths and weaknesses but also of your competitors'. Chapter 2: The assault on mind There are just too many products and the society has got over communicated. Chapter 3:Getting into the mind Perhaps the most easiest way to get into the mind of the prospect is be there first and do not give them any reason to switch to any other product. Obviously, the harder way is not being the first! Because of the clamor and bustle of the products and promotions in the market place, a good product, a good plan and a creative commercial can no longer ensure success.

Chapter 4: Those little ladders in your head The average consumer is not rational, he is emotional. Advertisements are supposed to respect their emotions. A good advertisement heightens the expectation about the product. But, the message shall match to the prior information and knowledge. And, here comes the problem, most of the human minds do not have much prior knowledge to work with. The positioning of products in the mind of the products is in the form of a ladder, where each product occupies a particular step. To establish your position, you need to dislodge the position occupied by the competitor. The new information shall relate to the old. In today's intense competition the competitor's position is as important as your own position. Chapter 5: you can't get there from here A company shall not try to go head on with the market leader who have an entrenched position in the prospect's mind. If you want to establish a really good position, which is profitable to you, the easier way would be to relate your position with that of your competitor who happens to be the market leader of the segment turf in which you are also competing. The timing of the launch of your campaign, with which you intend to establish or occupy certain position, is extremely important. Chapter 6: position of a leader Statistically it can be proven that, on an average the first brand into the mind of the prospect gets twice as much market share as the second entrant would get. Leaders have got all the advantages, consumers do not have any specific reason to change the brand for their next purchase rather than sticking to the one which they bought the last time. Shopkeepers also stock more of the leading brands. The categories in which two or more brands go neck to neck are very unstable, sooner or later one becomes a market leader and continues to do so for a considerable duration of time. Leaders do not worry about this year or next year, their worries are long term. Leaders use the short term flexibility to assure a very stable long term position. The company shall not run ads which scream, "we are the number 1". To retain the leadership the company shall reinforce the concept which actually made it the market leader. But, this does not imply that the leader shall stop concentrating on the product to

retain the existing position. To retain the leadership, the leader has to augment the offering ensuring to the be the first again so that their exists no chance for the competitor to manipulate a lacuna in the product space in his advantage.The organization shall never get into the delusion that the product is because of the organization, rather it is the other way round that the organization is because of the product. The leader shall never adopt a laid back attitude. If a competitor has introduced a radical product, then our company shall also respond rapidly rather than following a "lets wait and see" approach. It can be a killer! Multibrand strategy- When a company's product becomes successful, then it occupies a certain space, a particular rung of the perception ladder. As time passes, new products come and go. It is better to launch a new product and to give it its own position than to modify the position of the existing product. To be a market leader you do not need a robust size, you need a robust mental position. Its an entirely different proverb for a business leader which states," getting to the top is tough. Staying there is much easier. Chapter 7 :Positioning of a follower The strategy that works for a leader are different from what a follower should use. The success of a Me-too product depends on the "speed" factor rather than the "better" factor. Launch the product before the leader has got his leadership entrenched, with a better promotion and also a better name. Cherchez le creneau, "look for the hole." You must find the creneau in the offering of the competitor. Often to do that you have to go diametrically opposite to the direction in which every body else is moving. There are various types of creneaus which the authors have presente, for example the size creneau, which was exploited by Volkswagen beetle. In an era of big cars, volkswagen launched its beetle ie a small car which indeed brought a new revolution in the industry. Another such creneau is the 'high price' creneau. Price often augments the aspiration value associated with product. People indeed value quality a lot. Hi price provides a better advantage when you are also the first entrant into the market space. But high price only works well in those industries where consumers are actually receptive to high price. You need to have brilliant story and provide really refined quality offering. High price is suitable for old and established product categories. Another one is the 'low price' creneau. Low price creneau works well for those products buying which the consumers have a feeling that they are taking a chance on. The 'no name' Food brands are using the low price attribute to convince the consumers to try them. More creneaus can be sex, age, time, distribution, usage rate. Chapter 8: Repositioning the competition This is one of the best chapter of the book with some really wonderful examples, exactly those, the "eye opener " types. There also can be a situation that actually there is no possibility of finding the creneau, particularly in an industry where there is a plethora of brands. Under such circumstances the company needs to reposition its competitors, to position yourself firmly, you need to dispose the position of the competitor in the mind of the prospect. The company shall not fear a conflict, a valid conflict has the capability to build a reputation overnight. The book presents great examples about how people in the past have successfully executed this strategy. The authors have further explained about the comparative ads. Most of the comparative ads have been flop. They just fail to reposition the competition. If just by claiming to be better than the competition you could woo the prospects then obviously things would have not been the way they actually are. Moreover comparative ads set competitors as a benchmark for the company.

The authors further talk about the ethical aspect of the repositioning. Again they have cited brilliant examples to convince the readers about the assertion. The competition in the market today is really- really intense. And the plethora of products out their make it difficult to offer a POD. To affirm your position you have to relate to the others in the same turf. Further, this keeps the competition on their toes, thus the product category gets constantly developed ultimately benefiting the prospects. Chapter 9: The power of the name With the flood of brands out there, getting your product noticed or discerned is getting herculean. The name for the product shall be chosen really wisely. The name shall convey the benefits which the product claims to offer. " A good name is the best assurance for long term success." But, the name also gets out of vogue, under such a case you have to move on before its too late. The book has provided some really good examples to further clarify this. The name is beyond doubt very important. You can't take a chance with a name which does not make any sense. A no meaning name would only garner you success if you are one of a kind new product company, who is convinced of capturing millions of customers. With products indeed names are important, but they also play a very important role in the life an individual. The name is the first point of contact between the message and the mind. Their is no such thing as goo name or bad name, it is just an appropriate name.